Packing gland



H mm m m R 'wi TNEss I ATTORNEY liquid-inthe sealing process.

Patented a. 20, :1931 I JZPAGKING GLAND I Application 'file'dpApril 16,

My invention relates topacking glands, such as rotatableshaft packing glands, and particularly to liquid glandsforsealing the shafts of fluid mOtOrs, such, for examp e, as steam turbines, and'it has for an object to provide apparatus of the character 'desig-V nated which shall operateefiiciently and which shall be capable of effectively sealing against substantial pressure differences. It has for a further object to provide acpacking gland which shall prevent the permeation of air through the liquid seal to the turbine and which shall require a minimum amount of These and other objects, which will bemacle apparent throughout the further descrlption of my invention, maybe attained by the employment of the apparatus hereinafter fde scribed andillustratedjin the accompanying drawings in whi'c' time forml ofipacking gland constructed in ac'cordance' with my in'-. vention andFigsLQand 3 are partial views, in sectional elevation, 0f two additional forms of packing glands similar to that shown in 1 with the exception that labyrinth packing elements are interposed between the rotating runner and the housing.

Centrifugal liquid sealing devices or pack-I A attached to the turbine rotor and adapted to operate in' a closed annular'rchamber communicating with the turbine .fcasing; Inc-operation, the centrifugal action ofthe rotating runner maintainsarelatively small quantity chamber, against the outer wallsat a pressure sufficientj to'prevent leakage of air into" the turbine,"as under-high vacuumiconditions; or steam from leaking out ofthetturbinaas under atmospheric exhaust or back pressure exhaust conditions. The-runner velocities of glands'of this character are generallyso-mewherebetween 100 and 200 feetper second so while the clearances normallypro'vided be- "In View of 192a." Serial no; 162,518.

tween the runneriand the gland "chamber may "vary from 1/32 to of an-inch; y f" J ,{uNiTEDfSTA-res? imm- ROBERT C. ALLENLCF swnnrnnonn, PENNSYLVANIA; assrenon TO wns'rrnenousn ELECTRIC & ,nanuraorunrne C01VIPANY,'A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA I It is-a well known fact that up tov acertain flow ofliquid through a'con'duit of definite dimensions is calm and 'uniformwhile beyond that point the ,flow is turbulent violent-"and 5 occur in a tube composed of smooth glass. I havefo'und that; in packing, glands of'the type normally associated with steam turbines, the rotationalyelocity efthe' gland runner is necessarily such that a turbulent condition velocity,knoWI as, the critical velocity;the v v offlow'of the sealing "liquid "prevails at'all ftimes; Such a turbulent, fluid condition obviously promotes air absorption, the air being entrained on the-highipressure side of the liquid seal andliberated from the 110w;

pressure side As a resultpglands associated with turblnesoperatlng under high vacuum conditions permit air-to be freely liberated Not'only does suchv into the turbine casing. a llberatlon of alfllllplll the vacuum pre- .vailing within the turbine casing, fbut it causes a' large amount of water to be torn from the' sealingannulus and to be deposited therein. I Such a depositof liquid inthe turbine casing materially increases the amount of-fluid consumed by the gland in the sealing process while the entrainment of air materially reduces the specific gravity of the sealing-action. 1 a I he fact that most glands rotate effect therequi'red sealing body so that a greater depth of annuv r V lus-must bemaintained to of water; whlch' is present in the: annular;

atsuch velocities thatthe sealing liquid is' generally turbulent and the entrainment of air prevalent,--I have conceived the idea "of V 7 so constructing a packingglandthat sealing. r

liquid is continually circulated through the gland housing in adi-reotion counter to fluid leakage. With suchagland, the an attempting tofind itsiway into theturbine casinggvia the liquid seal must pass through the seali I I I n c I Q liquid c1rculat1ng inan opposmg direction and is consequently entrained therein and carried to the outside of the gland housing. In this way, the low pressure side 01 the sealing annulus,; that'is; the side disposed contiguous. to the turbine casing, is maintained substantially free of entrained air at its normal density. I prefer to so construct my gland that the area of flow connecting-the lateral facesof the runner, and through which the circulating fluid must pass, is made rela tively small by the employment of labyrinth packing elements. In this manner, the

amount of liquidcirculated through the gland hous ng 1s reduced to a minimum. t Referringjnowto' the drawings for a lG- I tailed description ofmy invention, I show in Fig; 1 a turbinecasing lQprovided with a "rotor 11'. "suitably secured thereto, as by bolts'12,is a packing cylinder 13 pro ided jith a series of labyrinth packing elements 14 of any well- Insert-ed within .thecasing and known type. Disposed adjacent to the packing cylinder and also securedtothe: turbine byithe bolts 12 is a member 15 comp l inner packing cylinder 16, a liousin .-g17(- and :an outer packing cylinder 18. The inner and outer packing cylinders 16 and 18 are provided respectively with a series oflabyrinth packing-elements 19 and 20 which may be of any well-knowntype. Thepacking cylinder l3 and the inner packing cylinder 16 cooperate to provide an annular passage 22 having a; vaporoutlet connection23.. The housing 17 comprises lateralwalls 37 and-58 and a boreor outer peripheral wall 39 connecting the o-uterperipheriesofnthe lateral walls,"

posed radially outwardly of the inner periphery ofthe chamber. fAnoriiice 26 for restricting the flow and for retaining the fluid "pressure withinthe housing is provided in the outlet '25. "Disposed inj the chamber formed by the housing 17 and rigidly secured to the rotorll is'a runner 27; provided with a plurality of radially disposed impelling vanes 28. The diameter of the. runner may be madeaslightly less thanthe bore of the housing -17"soflthat a passage 2911015 limited flow area intervenes between .the' runner 27' and its housing 17 while the transverse faces ofi the runner 27 111516 if desired be amply spaced fromthe lateral walls of the housing 17. ''The transverse faces of the runner de fine, with the lateral walls of the ho'using,re-

spective sealing annuli 30' and 31.

The operation of the above embodiment of myinvention is as follows z a 1 Assuming the turbine to be exhausting against a subatmospheric pressure, there is a natural tendency for the surroundmg air to attempt to find its way into the turbine casin Any suitable sealing fiuld, such as water, is therefore, supplied through therliquid inlet ,connection, 2. l to the housing 17. As I have assumed 111i3he present c ase that the turbine s exhausting against a sub-atmospheric pressure, the sailing liquid is preferably supplied at a pressure of about 20 -pounds persquare inch. These aling liquid conveyed to the housing 17 is held in the form of a solid annulus in the spaceintervening between the runner 27 and its housing-17 bythe centrifugal pumplngaction of the runner. As shown ii -the drawing, the depth of the sealing an- 'nulus 31-i's greater than that of theannulus30 by an extentidetermined by the difference in pressure prevailing on the inside side of the turbine casin p a As stated heretofore, the rotationalvelocity of a gland runner is generally such that the sealing liquid is impelled about the housing 17 at such a velocity that it is constantly in a turbulent condition and as a consequence the ai riwhich -works its way past the labyrinth packing elements 20, and enters the housing 17 is readily entrained in the sealing annulus, 30. This entrained air isnaturally conducted by the sealing liquid from] the high pressure side of the runner toward the low pressure; side of F the runner,

and the outthat is, towardtheI turbine fcasing; novel form of pack n gland; however,

maintain a constant JQlTClliLlllOll or sealing liquid through the annul clearance 29' to the outlet 25. The direction fl lo'w ofthis liquid is counter to that ofthe manageri-scum thelatter is arrested in the annular clearance 29 and carried through the outlet '25; In

this manner, the air is prevented from reaching the annulus 31 which is disposed adjacent to the turbine casing. As a result, the liquid composing the annulus 31 retains its normal density owing to the absence of entrained air and the annulus may be maintainedata minimum depth consistent with its'operating pressure. 'lVhile the depth of the sealing annulus 31may be of no material consideration when seallng-against a pressure difference of only c]? poundsper square inch, nevertheless this featurexis of vital importance in constructing glands for sealing against very high pressure differencessuch -as 300 pounds per sqi'iareinch'; As noair reaches the; annulus "315 110 air can 'berdepositedflin the -turbine; casing the carrying or tearing away of'large globules otasealing liquidfromthe inner surfaceof the annulus 3-1 through'the liberation of entrained air is prevented;

The outletf is providedwith an orifice so that the fiow ot sealing liquid through'the annularpassage '29 is accurately regulated while'the required liquid pressure is retalned inthe housing 17; a The outer "diameter of the .msafzgeas i runner 27 closelyapproximates that 'of the --bore of the housing lr'Zso-that the flow area .of theannular passage 29 isirestricted :and the entrainment of the air in the circulating liquid facilitated.

Owing-to the difference in'pressure prev-ailing on opposite sidesof the runner 27, there vis-a constantconduction of heat through the liquid-from the high pressure side of the runner to the low pressure side. There is also atransforination of mechanical energy into heat due to the friction of; the sealing liquid onithewalls of the chamber '17: and-on the surfaces of the runner27. V 1

The accumulation of such heat raises the temperature of the sealingv liqui d,.and where ,inner annulus, 31, and leakinto the turbine the pressure in-the turbine is sub-atmospheric, the boiling point will quickly be reached. Boiling results in a lowering of the density of the sealing liquid, which will overflow the unless the inner annulus ismade unduly deep. Boiling also allows leakage of the l quid which is vaporized. In. my arrangement,

' however, the cool sealing liquid circulating throu 'h annular assa e 29 commin les with the liquid in annuli :30 andBl, which.isthere-.

by maintained at a far lower temperature than is possible with glands of the ordinary type. The density-of the sealing liquid in annulus 31 is thus maintained constant. One advantage of this is that the necessary depth of annulus 30 is "less and can be calculated on the basis of the normal density of the sealing liquidi s l v It is obvious that the reduction in temperature substantially reduces the amount of vapor generated by the gland in the sealing process. Should, however, a slight amount be generated, it is liberated from the low pres sure side of the runner, that is, the annulus 31, its escape being somewhat retarded by the packing elements 19. This vapor finally enters the annular passage 22 wherein it commingles with the vapor which has escaped through the labyrinth packing elements 14.

The vapor accumulated Within the annular passage 22 may be discharged through the vapor outlet connection23 to any region of sufiiciently low pressure as, for example, a condenser or the suitable stage of an assocated lower pressure turbine; In this manmechanical safety, inasmuch asa slight ra-' dial displacement of the runner 27 relative Etoits housing does 'notrresultin seriously damaging the. gland. The labyrinthpacking elements. 35 may be one offmanywell-known types-and the method ofemploying thesame is well known in the turbine art.-. I v

In Fig; 3 I show still anothereinbo'dnnent of my invent-ion in which not only. arelabyrinthpack-ing elements 35' located between the inlet 24Land the outlet 25 butadditionalv labyrinth packing elements 36and 37 are dis-e5 posedon oppositesides of' the. inlet and outlet, respectively. The provision ofthe labyrinth packingqelements 36 andf37 results-in segregating the sealing annuli 3D and-.31 from the turbulence or. agitation created by the liquidin circulating through the annular passage-29. This insures that the liquid .con-

tained in both annul-i 30 and 31 is-more tran- I quil and as a consequence its ability forentraining air is materiallylessened.

Fromthe foregoing it willbe apparent that I have invented anovel form" of packing gland which is capable ofv effectively sealing against substantial pressure difieren'ces and in which the permeation of airthrough the liquid seal is practically eliminated; lniaddition, the vaporization of the sealing liquid is reduced'to a minimum while the liquid in the seal is retained at its normal density, thereby assuring reliability of operation. While 1 have illustrated my'packing gland with the .sealingliquid circulating away from the turbine casing, it is obvious that where I desire to employ Imy packing gland with a turbine exhausting against a back pressure, I may readily rearrange the gland with the direction of sealing liquid reversed. In addition, while I haverefeired to'w-ater as the sealing .be found suitable for accomplishing thedcsired results.

WVhile I have'shown my invention in several forms it will be obvious tothose skilled in. the art that it is not so limited, but susceptible of variousother changes andinodliquid, it is within the purview of my inven tion to employ any other fluid which may I;

ifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and'l desire, therefore, that only such limitations-shall; be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth. in the appended claims. 7

. Wh2itl claim is g 1. In a device for packing 'the shaft 'of a fluid motor, the combination; of a stationary housing providing aninwardly: opening annular chamber, a rotatable runner disposed within the chamber for maintaining a seal-- ing annulus, the outer peripheral surface or the runner being disposed in closely spaced relation and the transverse surfaces of the runner being disposed in relatively wide dium to-one end of the chambeigand means 'TQI" removing the sealing mediuinfro n the spaced relation to the internal walls of the chamber, means for admitting aseahn-g ineopposite end of the chamber, both of said means communicating with the chamber at points disposedrradiallyoutwardly of the inner periphery of the chamber, and providing a flow therethroughin a direction counter to the direction'in which fiuid leakage tends to flow through said chamber.

r the outlet respectively for segregating the chamber defined by the peripheral surface of the runner and the bore of the housing from the chambers defined by the transverse surfaces of the runner and the lateral walls of the housing. a i

3. Ina device for sealing a rotating shaft against leakage offluid from a zone of high pressure to a zone of low pressure, the combination of a stationary gland housing having two lateral walls and a peripheral wall defining an inwardly-opening annular chanr ber, a rotating runner carried by-the shaft and extending into the chamber, means communicating with the chamber at points spaced axially and disposed radially outward of the inner periphery thereof for circulating sealing medium therethrough in a direction. counter to the direction in which fluid tends to leak through said chamber, and a labyrinth packing element interposed between the admission and removal means for restricting the flow of sealing medium through the chamber.

4. The combination with the vacuum end of an elastic fluid turbine casing and a rotatable shaft projecting into said vacuumend through an opening in the casing, of a sealing device for preventing the entranceof air into said casing through said opening comprising a housing carried by saidrcasing and defining an annular chamber opening radially inwardly, a rotatable runner mounted on the shaft and extending into the chamber toma-intain an annulus of sealing liquid therein, the axially outer side of the liquid sealing annulus being exposed to air from the atmosphere, means for admitting sealing liquid to the chamber at a point disposed radially outwardly of the inner periphery thereof and at the axially inner side of the chamber, and means for removing sealing liquid from the chamber. ata point disposed the chamber, whereby the flow of sealing liquid is directed toward the incoming'air and carrles away air which becomes entrained in the sealing llquld.

5-. The combination with an elastic fluid turbine casing having a chamber containing motive fluidat a pressure below atmospheric pressure and a rotatable shaft projecting into said chamber through an opening in the casing, of a sealing device for preventing entrance of air intosaid chamber through said opening including a housing carried by thecasing and defining' an annular chamber opening radially inwardly, a rotatable run,

ner mounted onthes'haft and extending into the annular chamber for maintaining an annulus of sealing liquid therein, the axially outer side of the liquid sealing annulus being exposed to air from the atmosphere, means,

for admitting sealing liquid to the annular chamber; at one point and means for discharging sealing liquid at a point spaced axially from the first-mentioned point and on the side thereofawayfrom the interior of.

the turbine casing, so asto provide a flowof sealing liquid axially outwardly against the incoming air for carrying away air which becomes entrained in the sealing liquid.

6. The combination with an elastic fluid turbine casing having a chamber containing motive fluid at a pressure below atmospheric pressure and a rotatable shaft projecting into said chamber through an opening in the casing, of a sealing device for said opening.

the opening nearer to the interior of the tur- 7 blue casing, means for dlschargmg sea-ling fluid fromthe annular'chamber through the opening away from the interior of the turbine casing, and packing elements in the annular openings. 7 1

In testimony whereof, I have vhereunto subscribed my name this fifteenth day of April, 1926.

ROBERT o. ALLEN.

radially outwardly ofthe inner periphery of the chamber and at the axially outer side of chamber disposed between said 

